Island



(No Model.)

A. A. 8v H. C. RUP-FER..

WHBEL'TIRB. No. 536,752.

vlianen'ed Apr. 2, 1895.

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UNrTeD [STATES Y'PAfrnrrr Frio@ `ARTHUR A. KUPFER AND HERMAN O. KUPFEE,OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,752, dated April 2,1 895.

Application filed November 20,1893. Serial No. 491,455. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR A. KUPFER and HERMAN C. KUPFER, both ofProvidence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Wheel-Tires; and wehereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention has reference to improvements in that class ofwheel-tires in which an outer sheath' is expanded by devices containedwithin the sheath and adapted to be inflated.

The object of the invention is to so coustruct the iniiating-device, inthe nature of a tube, that the overlapping-ends of the same will receivebut a slightly larger amount ot' the air, or other inflating medium,than the main portion of the tube. l

Another object of the invention is to provide an expanding-device, forthe sheath of a tire, in the nature of independent expansible tubesnormally held together on their exterior surfaces but separable for thepurpose of repairing the adjoining surfaces.

The invention consists in the combination with a tire-sheath, of thepeculiar independent tubes contained within the sheath and temporarilysecured together on their outer surfaces, each tube having anindependent valve-stem.

The invention also consists in such other novel features of constructionand combination of parts as will hereinafter be more fully described andpointed out in the claim.

Figure l represents a sectional View of the tire-sheath showing a sideview ofparts of the improved expanding-device in the position they willassume, under normal conditions, when being secured in place. Fig. 2represents an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the same to moreclearly show the overlapping ends of the tubes. Fig. 3 is across-sectional view of the tire taken on aline through the valve-stemof the supplemental-tube.

Similar numbers of reference designate corresponding parts throughout.

Inflating-tubes for sheath-tires have heretofore been made either toolong/or too short for the sheath. In the first case the ends of thetubes overlap and, when inflated, each receives as much air as thevother resulting inr an enlargement of the sheath at this pointi55 and adisagreeable succession of jolts as this portion of the tire comes incontact with the roadway.` In the latter case the stretch of the tube,under the air pressure, is not sufficient to fill the sheath and aportion of the sheath is left unsupported by the tube.

The ends of the infiatingtubes for tires have heretofore been formedwith the end portions of the walls flattened together and secured, orthe end portions have been turned inwardly upon themselves and cemented,in either case leaving a considerable portion of the material which isnot expanded as the inflating medium has no entrance thereto. In fact,while the ends of the tubes are elastic, they do not possess theresilient qualities of the niain portion of the tube when under airpressure. Now when these ends of the tube overlap, that portion of thetire at which they are located is heavier than any correspondingportionot the tire and does not possess the saine resilient qualitiesowing to the occupation of the space, which should be filled by air,'bythe ends of the tube.

When a plurality of inner tubes have been used they have been soconstructed and arranged that when punctured it is most difficult torepair the same.

In carrying our invention into practice we construct an iniiating-deviceof several independent tubes, of which two only are shown in thedrawings. The main tube 5-is designed to lie within the tread portion ofthe sheath when expanded. This tube is formed of expansible materiallonger than the circumferential length of the sheath so that when inposition the ends 6 and 7 overlap. The end 6 is shaped so that it mayfully expand, being rounded or hemi-spherical, the walls of the end 7being secured together in a Iiattened position, and between the walls issecured a contracted inlet passage 8 formed of some flexible materialwhich is practically non-expansible. This contracted passage connectswith the interior of the tube and from it extends the valve-stem 9 towhich any usual form of valve is connected.

IOO

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The supplemental-tube l is designed for use only when the main tubebecomes injured. It is also formed of elastic material and is shorterthan the tube 5 being adapted to lie within that portion of the sheathnearest the wheel-rim. This supplemental-tube is secured to the outersurface of the tube 5 temporarily either by unvulcanzed cement or by anyother means which will permit of the ready separation of the two when itbe comes necessary to repair their adjoining surfaces. The supplementaltube is provided with the securing-strip 11 which is furnished with ahole l2 to fit over the valve-stem 9 of the main tube when the strip maybe secured to the opposite end of the tube by unvulcanized cement, and avalve-stem 13 connects with the supplemental tube through which air maybe introduced to intlate the same.

The ends of the tube 10 and the end 6 of the main tube 5 are constructedwith semicircular ends which are cemented together so as to provide athickness of material over the joint verylittle, if any, greater thanthe thickness of the main wall of the tube. This construction will beunderstood by reference to the ends 10-10 in the drawings, it beingbetter illustrated by the collapsed tube l0 than if the same wereexpanded. By this means the expansibility of the ends of the tubes isequal to that of the sides and no additional thickness of the materialfrom which the tube is made is introduced in the tire to deaden theresiliency of the portion of the tire in which they are located.

In practice the tubes are secured in place around the wheel-rim 14through perforations in which the valve-stems 9 and 13 extend, and overthe tubes is secured the sheath 15 iu any ordinary manner. Bytemporarily securing the tubes together they are held in their properpositions while they may be readily separated when it becomes necessaryto repair their adjoining surfaces.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- The combination, in a Wheel-tire having asheath, with the main tube 5 having the overlapping-ends 6 and 7, thecontracted non-eX pansible passage 8, `and a valve-stem connected withsuch passage, of the supplemental-tube 10 having the valve-stem 13 andtemporarily secured to the outer wall ot' the tube 5 by unvulcanizedcement, and the securingstrip l1 carried by one end of thesupplemental-tube and adapted to be temporarily secured to the oppositeond of said tube, as described.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set Witnesses:

HENRY J. MILLER,

F.BL1GH.

